Chai Ling, Former Tiananmen Leader, Becomes a Christian

Her conversion born of her inability to change China and the pain of forced abortions that take place in his country with the one-child law "a hundred times more violent than the Tiananmen massacre."

Chai Ling, the only woman leader of the1989 Tiannamen Square protests, was baptized on April 4. She had asked to become a Christian in December 2009.

On the day of her baptism she explained the reasons that brought her to the Christian faith: her inability to change China and the pain of seeing so much violence in her country, not only in the field of human rights and democracy, but above for the forced abortions caused by the one child law, which she defines as "a daily Tiananmen massacre, a hundred times over and done in broad daylight."

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During the demonstrations in Tianamen in May-June 1989, Chai Ling, was a 23 year old student of psychology at Beijing Normal University (Beishida). She was the only female group leader, who predicted with great sadness the tragic end of the democratic movement ("There will be a bloodbath," she said in an interview days before the fateful June 4). Along with 11 other students she had sworn an oath to shed her blood for her country, modeled on the Chinese heroic martyrs of the past who committed suicide in order to re-awaken their people.

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The conversion of Chai Ling is the latest in a series by different Tiananmen leaders. After struggling for ideas of equality and democracy, thanks to their relationship with the West or with missionaries in China, they have discovered that their commitment to human rights is reasonable only if grounded on a Christian basis. “When we thought we were starting a democracy movement- says Chai Ling - we shouted out all man are born equal. Now I know I can say it with confidence because God had created us all equal in his image and likeness.”

Read the entire article on the Asia News website (new window will open).